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Christmas, Single (feat. Polly Paulusma)

by Paul Goodwin

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about

I thought "Christmas, Single" was too good a title to pass up. It came out sadder than I was expecting.

lyrics

I wake up with my feet in my fake plastic Christmas tree
Holding a mercifully unopened can
There's a badly wrapped book and a board game
I'm worried she got for her birthday
But I don't have a backup plan

I'm still cleaning when they turn up
I jokingly tell them it's fairy dust
7 years old, she says "dad, it's alright"
I dried out the turkey and they don't even like it done perfectly
I've set the bar low all my life

Christmas, single
Kind of dismal
Just like the ones I used to know

The crackers just rip and don't crack
My head is too big for my party hat
It's never too early for wine
Lunch is all pointed remarks about grandchildren
And how these days you just can't say anything
One less place round the table than last time

The afternoon's pecking and prodding
And deliberately misconstrued comments
That mysterious 30 year grudge
It’s fine for the snowballs and fruit cake
But there's yelling by quarter to 8
I love them all on their own, but my God

Christmas, single
Pretty dreadful
Like I remember when I was a kid

It was magical once though, right?
The cardboard box castles, the paper-strewn floors
That massive great Radio Times
Your one chance all year to see Star Wars
I know this was for me more than them
And I can't stand the pity
Their stepdad's a good guy
And they don't want to tell me

A lazy reply to a lazy round robin
A lazy hello from a schoolfriend
I was bored and the pubs are all closed
I thought I must've offended you
I just lost all my numbers two phones ago
I can't believe you've come back to this hole

Do you want to meet up in the week?
If you like, any day except New Year's Eve
We can go back to Yates’s and legally drink
Remember that time we snuck into the Odeon?
We said we'd be each other's backup plan
Yeah, well I've said a lot of things

Christmas, single
Fairly brutal
And God knows what the new year will bring
Christmas, single
Faintly hopeful
I might not have to do this again

credits

released December 2, 2022
Paul Goodwin: Singing, guitar, bass, piano, organ, tambourine, sleigh bells
Polly Paulusma: Singing
Dan O'Dell (Heartwork): Programming

Polly Paulusma appears courtesy of Wild Sound Recordings / One Little Independent Records.

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Paul Goodwin Cambridge, UK

Paul Goodwin has spent the last 10 years or so playing his quietly heartbreaking songs anywhere that would have him, to anyone who would listen, and quite a few people that wouldn't. His music has taken him all over the UK as well as to Canada, France and America and he's played alongside acts ranging from Alessi's Ark to Waterson:Carthy to Wayne Hussey. ... more

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